In the sacred tradition, there is a detailed ritual for honoring the divine, especially the moon-crested Lord Śiva and the cool-rayed Soma. As the months pass, each constellation brings its own form of worship. In Mṛgaśīrṣa, devotees reverently worship the tongue of the enemy of Pura; when Ārdrā arrives, the teeth of Hara are honored; in Punarvasu, the nose of Śaṅkara is venerated with the invocation, "Obeisance to Savitṛ." On Puṣya, the forehead, dear to the lotus-faced one, is worshipped; during Ēlākā, the body as the bearer of the Vedas is honored; and in Āśleṣā, the ears, beloved by the gods, receive their due worship atop the head. As the lunar cycle continues, in Pūrvaphālgunī, the eyes of Śaṃbhu are celebrated as the delight of cows and Brāhmaṇas, most worthy of reverence. In Uttaraphālgunī, the eyebrows are worshipped as belonging to the Lord of all. Devotees offer salutations to Śiva, the wielder of the noose, goad, lotus, trident, skull, serpent, and the moon-bow, who is the root cause of the destruction of Gayāsura, Anaṅga, Purā, Andhaka, and others. After worshipping all these limbs in the prescribed manner, the head is finally honored as belonging to the Lord of all, and strict discipline is observed—no oil, meat, salt, or leftovers may be consumed. The devotee, O King, keeps vigil through the night and, at Punarvasu, offers a prastha of rice grown in wet fields, a fig, and clarified butter. These offerings are placed in a vessel and presented to a Brāhmaṇa along with gold. On the seventh day, at the vow’s conclusion, a pair of garments is also given. On the fourteenth day, beginning with Bhāratī, a Brāhmaṇa is fed with devotion, with offerings of jaggery, milk, ghee, and similar items. The devotee creates a golden lotus with eight petals and a central seed-vessel, pure and eight finger-breadths in size, adorned with ruby petals. A bed is prepared—well-formed, free from knots and defects, furnished with pillows, canopies, and covered with soft bedding. This bed is equipped with footstools, sandals, umbrellas, fly-whisks, seats, mirrors, vessels, fruits, cloths, and ointments. Upon this bed, the lotus is arranged and adorned with virtues. A tawny cow is placed upon it, clothed in garments, of excellent conduct and rich in milk, with silver hooves, golden horns, accompanied by a calf, and a bronze milking vessel. This cow is given to the Brāhmaṇa with a mantra, always at the auspicious morning hour. The prayer is offered: "Just as your resting place, O Sun, is never empty, may my prosperity, steadfastness, fortune, and nourishment always increase in the same way. Just as the gods know no one greater than you, O flawless one, so may you lift me from the endless ocean of suffering and worldly existence." After circumambulating and bowing, the devotee dismisses the bed, the cow, and all the accoutrements, and brings them to the house of the Brāhmaṇa. This vow of the moon-crested one is not to be revealed to the unvirtuous or deceitful, nor to those who revile cows, Brāhmaṇas, gods, sages, or yogis. This secret, which brings joy and auspiciousness, should be shared only with the devoted and self-controlled; for the knowers of the Veda say it destroys even the greatest sins. Whoever performs this vow, even if separated from relatives, sons, wealth, or wives, brings joy to the gods. Neither disease, sorrow, nor delusion afflict him, nor does any woman who performs it with devotion. This ritual was performed by Vasiṣṭha, Arjuna of old, Kubera, and Indra; even by reciting its glory, all sins are destroyed—there is no doubt. Whoever reads or hears this account of the Sun's resting place becomes beloved of Indra; even if his ancestors have gone to hell, he brings them to heaven by performing this vow. The great sages have declared the aśvattha, vaṭa, udumbara, nandīśa, jambu, and bilva trees as suitable for making tooth-cleaning sticks, each used in order as the months begin with Mārgaśīrṣa. At the conclusion, curd-rice, canopies, banners, fly-whisks, and water-pots adorned with five gems are given to the Brāhmaṇas. The devotee must not act deceitfully regarding wealth, for such conduct incurs faults. Bhīṣma, eager for knowledge, asks: "By which vow, performed repeatedly in each birth, does a man gain long life, health, great family prosperity, and beauty? Please describe in detail the vow of the cool-rayed one." Pulastya, pleased by the question that leads to inexhaustible merit and heaven, reveals the secret known to the learned in the Purāṇas. He describes the vow called 'Rohiṇī-candra-śayana.' In this, one worships an image of Nārāyaṇa with the names of the moon. When the bright fifteenth lunar day (full moon) falls on a Monday, or when the Brahma constellation arises on the full moon, the devotee bathes with five products of the cow mixed with mustard seeds and recites 'āpyāyasva' eight hundred times. Even a Śūdra, with supreme devotion and avoiding heretical speech, should worship Soma, the peaceful one, saying, "Homage to you, O endless abode, at your feet and shanks." Both thighs are worshipped as belonging to Jalodara, and the genital as the abode of Kāma. Repeated homage is given to the giver of pleasure and delight; the moon’s waist is always to be worshipped. The belly is honored as belonging to Amṛtodara, and the navel as belonging to the moon. Homage is offered to Candra; the face is always worshipped, the teeth honored as the lords of the twice-born. The smile is worshipped as belonging to Candramas, and the lips as dear to the forest of Kumuda flowers. The nose is honored as the lord of the best herbs, the eyebrows as the source of joy. Both lotus-like eyes are worshipped as belonging to the moon, and the hands as creators of blue lotuses. Homage is given to the one worshipped in all sacrifices; both ears are honored as destroyers of demons. The forehead is worshipped as dear to the lord of the moon, and the hair as belonging to the lord of Suṣumnā. The head is worshipped as belonging to the moon; homage is offered to Murāri and to the lord of the universe. The crown is worshipped as dear to Lakṣmī, named Rohiṇī, beloved of the lotus, and the ocean of fortune, happiness, and nectar. After worshipping the goddess, the wife of the moon, with fragrant flowers, offerings, incense, and the like, the devotee sleeps on the ground. Upon rising, after bathing, food is offered to a Brāhmaṇa. In the morning, a water pot with gold is given, with the words, "Homage to the destroyer of sins." After tasting cow’s urine, one eats food free from meat and salt, eight or twenty times. Three morsels mixed with ghee are taken, fasting is observed, and stories are listened to for a time. Flowers such as kadamba, blue lotus, ketaka, jasmine, red lotus, and a hundred-petaled lotus are used. Unwithered flowers, sinduvāra, mallikā, white flowers, karavīra flowers, and śrī-campaka are offered to Candramas, honoring him with devotion and reverence. Thus, through these sacred acts, the devotee honors the cool-rayed Lord, gaining blessings of health, prosperity, beauty, and joy, and uplifting not only himself but also his ancestors and all who hear or recite these holy rites.